Josh Boyer – December 21, 2021
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Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(I wanted to ask you about your top three guys in terms of snap counts off of the edge right now with LB Andrew Van Ginkel, LB Jaelan Phillips, and DE Emmanuel Ogbah. They are in the top 30 in terms of quarterback pressures this year and it seems like they are really playing their best ball right now. I just wanted to get your perspective on how that strong edge play has helped your defense.) – “I think that any time you look at individual stats, there is obviously a lot that goes into all 11 guys being on the same page. But at the same time, guys doing their jobs well sets somebody up on the defense for production. Like we’ve said all year, our guys work extremely hard, they’ve put a lot of work in and I believe we’re still improving and we still got room to improve. It’s really a credit to them for the execution, the communication, the understanding of what goes on in each given play and the ability to get some production and pressure. A lot of times our guys are very unselfish. You’ll see other guys actually open up stuff for other players and they’re just as happy that we’re succeeding as a team.”
(Going with CB Nik Needham at free safety last game, how did that come about? It had to be a difficult week to deal with given the uncertainty of who could be available and whatnot.) – “Nik’s a hard worker. He’s very intelligent. He’s played inside and outside from a corner position. He’s involved in a lot of the communication, especially when he’s on the inside. He’s a strong communicator, he understands where guys fit and where they are supposed to be. Obviously he has a skillset that allows him to do multiple things and he puts a lot of time and effort into it. It’s a credit to him for it to be a smooth transition for him even though it was a foreign position. His ability to understand concepts and handle conceptual learning at a fast and high rate. I would say this is something that he’s improved each year that he’s been here. He’s worked very hard at it to know and understand how everybody fits. Like I said, he’s a strong communicator, he’s confident in what he’s saying and he’s just a good all-around football player that can play multiple spots.”
(The level that CB Byron Jones is playing at right now, how would you describe how well he’s playing?) – “He had some production for us last week. I thought he had a very solid game. I think he does a lot of good things. There are a lot of things that he does on the field that even when the ball doesn’t go his way, a lot of people don’t see. He’s one of those guys that works on his craft on a daily basis. He’s very good at film study. He seems to be playing some of his best ball, and we’re going to need that this week with the Saints coming up. This is a big game for us and I’m sure Byron will come in here, work hard and continue to do some of the things that he’s been doing. We’ve been getting a lot of production out of Byron, for sure.”
(I wanted to ask you also about DT Raekwon Davis. Where is he now in his career compared to where you, Head Coach Brian Flores and Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark think he can be?) – “You will have to ask Austin and ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) on that. For me, you take things as they come. You’re looking for constant improvement from each player. It’s not just unique to Raekwon. Sometimes you feel that you’re getting that, and sometimes on Sunday it doesn’t show up like you quite think it will and sometimes it does. I’m not saying that it did or didn’t last week. I think Raekwon is improving. I think he’s a hard worker. I think he loves football. There is no question about that – he loves football. He studies it. He works at his craft. I think for every individual, it’s not unique to Raekwon, you’re constantly working for improvement but that’s just the nature of the business. Sometimes as you’re working to improve, you have a setback here or there, but the ability to overcome that, which obviously Raekwon has showed the ability to do that, and push forward and continue to get better, it’s really a credit to him. I’m glad to have him. He’s a good football player for us and I really feel like he is improving. As far as where ‘Flo’ or Austin think he is, you’d have to ask those guys. I don’t want to speak for them. But I’m really glad we have Raekwon in the building.”
(It seems like every week there is a play that gets made because guys are running to the football. I want to get your message to the team or the coaching point to get the guys to play so aggressive and so fast and always chasing the football?) – “I think ultimately when you’re playing team defense, you definitely want to get everybody with a relentless pursuit to the football. I don’t know who said it or what quote it was – a long time ago somebody said ‘you can measure your love of to your teammates by your distance to the ball.’ I think you see our guys. They play hard, they play for one another, there is a joy out there and they know that people are counting on them. Their effort to the ball is very important and obviously we highlight that when it’s done well and when it’s not to the standard that we believe it should be, then we get on that too. We’ve got a lot of guys that fly around to the football out there and again like I’ve said, we’re going to need our best football this week because we’ve got a great opponent coming up. Coach (Sean) Payton and Coach (Pete) Carmichael are phenomenal offensive coaches. They make it really hard on you defensively. They’ve got good offensive line, they’ve got great skill players, they’ve got really good running backs, they’ve got a dynamic quarterback that can run and he can throw. It’s going to be a big challenge for us and we’re going to need everybody, all 11 guys to be on the same page, to communicate well, to play with good fundamentals and good techniques for 60 minutes, one play at a time. That’s what we’re going to need this week. But we’re excited about the challenge.”
(Can’t let you go without asking about one of your defensive players scoring an offensive touchdown on Sunday in DT Christian Wilkins.) – “The funny thing about that is I have not seen it. A lot of times when we’re on offense, we’re always preparing on what situations could be coming up defensively. I haven’t watched any of the offensive film. I’m happy for Christian. Christian will probably tell you how athletic he is, which he is athletic. I’m happy for him. I’m happy for our team. I don’t care who scores. Any time we score, that’s a good deal for us. But I have not seen the play.”
(Did you get to see the celebration at least?) – “I have not.”
